Good news: my scan results showed I am now clear of tumours. Remedial medication has started and so have our plans to return to the UK. After three hours on the drip my next appointment is 23rd. September. I told my specialist here in Spain that we planned to return permanently after that. I will carry on with the treatment once we’re back in England. The change in our lives means we can plan ahead. I have also knuckled down and made headway with my WIP (work in progress). I am about half-way through (45000 words), but I cannot say the end is in sight because I am still struggling with which direction I want to go with it. I think it’s extremely unlikely that I will have made much more progress before we return to UK because all the other diversions (excuses) that will be coming up. Perhaps I should say it will be done by Christmas.

I seem to be getting some positive signs as a result of my promotions this month. I’m not exactly soaring into the best-seller ranks, but my rankings have responded with sharp increases (followed by falls), lifting me up to the top 2000 in the thriller category, and about an average of 30000 or so in the kindle e-book store. Each rise is followed by a fall, but there is an impetus there that is measureable. If I didn’t promote, I wouldn’t see any reaction.

I have almost completed my website: www.michaelparkerbooks.com I do intend to keep dressing it up from time to time. One of my sons tells e its lacking something. But the essential information is there, and hopefully potential readers will be satisfied with that. I will keep my other website live www.michaeljparker.com until I am completely happy with the work I’ve done on mine. One thing I do need though is widgets. At the moment they are linked to the Wix pages, so I must get busy and check out the right links.

I often read of other writers who appear to enjoy a good connection with their readers. They talk about keeping their fans up to date with how the latest WIP is progressing, and giving them advance warning of book releases, signing sessions etc. Oh, and blog tours. I signed up for a blog tour last week but realised I had wandered into something that wasn’t really my cup of tea. I had to accept an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of a novel and pick a date when I would appear on the blog. I was invited to interview the author in return for a small promotion for me. Nothing wrong with that, you say, and I agree: no problem at all. The trouble was; the novel was a romance with a strong sexual content. The book jacket of a man and woman semi naked on a bed gave the game away really. I’m not into that kind of book; never have been, never will be. I felt that to go ahead with the tour would make me feel like an interloper, and I would be well out of my depth. And let’s face it: what would a hard-boiled thriller writer want with mixing with bodice rippers? By the way; just to show I have nothing against the writer whose blog tour I thought I would be involved in, her name is Sherri Hayes. Her book is called, Crossing The Line and will be available in September on Amazon. I’ve had to eat humble pie and pull out of the blog tour. Perhaps I should stick to my own kind of bodice rippers. Wish me luck!